Sunday, November 24, 2013

#140 November 24, 2013- Ed. Reform and More Good, Bad and Ugly in Wisconsin

Stretched
to the Breaking Point. . .

Public educators often feel pulled in many
directions.We hear the messages that
our schools are failing, but more importantly we see students in our classrooms
who are struggling.We know that we can
always try new strategies and work just a little harder to try and meet the
needs of our students.At the same time,
we are given solutions to these challenges that are too often questionable in
validity and frequently coming from sources that don't have our student's best
interests at heart.

Many of us feel compelled to try to
implement these "reforms", even though, at the same time we question
them.Those educators who try to resist
face penalties, harsh criticism and are identified as barriers to student
achievement.The propaganda machine of
the "reformers" has created an atmosphere where trying to teach
students in any manner outside of the prescribed methods is viewed as
obstructionist and anti-achievement.

One of the most common attacks on
educators comes in a seemingly neutral and logical question, "Don't you
want what's best for your students?"Of course the answer to this question is a resounding
"YES".I have yet to meet an
educator who doesn't want their students to succeed, to be safe, and to be
happily engaged in learning.Educators
devote a significant portion of their day, both in and out of school, doing
everything possible to make this happen.Yet, we are constantly reminded of our failures and our successes are
minimized.

Educators who try to stand up for themselves either
individually, or collectively are vilified as selfish and lazy.Yet, we are asked to go above and beyond the
expectations in our contracts or job descriptions on a regular basis, and we do
so willingly and with a constant eye on the welfare of our students.Those who criticize educators for being
concerned about our working conditions often do so, not out of concern for
students, but rather because of a desire to undermine a group that they
consider their political, social or economic enemies.

We need to have some real
debate and discussion about how to make our system of public education better
for all students.Yet, in a climate of
crisis, open dialog and proactive problem solving are some of the first things
to disappear.The debates become
confrontations, and "solutions" are more geared towards punishing
opponents than resolving problems.

The debates around the
best practices for educating students have been going on for a long time.We need to continue these discussions and
find the best possible strategies for teaching students.At the same time we can't forget that every
student is an individual and a "one size fits all" approach simply
isn't realistic if we want students to succeed.

We also must emphasize the
needs of students to grow and develop their skills in natural and
developmentally appropriate ways.Hearing an article about a potential "savior" of education
say, "'My B.A. in economics was zero help in my profession today.” Instead,
he says that countless hours playing games during his school years–poker,
chess, backgammon–were the experiences that 'prepared me for what I do
today.')" is troubling when the reforms that are proposed eliminate much
of the potential to play and learn at the same time.We can't set up a dual level school system
where the wealthy learn in student friendly ways and the rest of the population
is stuck in a system based on drills, fundamentals and assessment.

Educators need to start
taking back ourschools and the systems
that we work with students in.We've put
too much trust in leaders from outside of our ranks, and are paying the price
in policies that are not student or educator friendly.The question of how to grow educator leaders,
while not removing them from the place they are most needed, the classroom, is
challenging.We also need to work
together to find ways to resist the "reforms" and implement real
positive change in our schools.

Senator John Lehman will be running for Lieutenant
Governor in 2014.He is the only
announced candidate on the Democrat ticket to date.He will be giving up his Senate seat, which
he won in a 2012 recall election to pursue the office.While it is unfortunate to for an incumbent
to give up their seat in the closely contested Wisconsin Senate, the reality is
that the redistricting of Senate boundaries done by the Republican controlled
legislature would make his re-election extremely difficult and having a viable
candidate for Lt. Governor is very important in the upcoming election.

As we gear up for the 2014
campaign, other organizations are beginning to gear up to help unseat Walker.Considering the amount of financial backing
that Walker
will enjoy, any and all support from different places will be needed.

This item has the
potential to move quickly into the “Ugly” category depending on the decision
handed down by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.The Court is going to rule on Wisconsin’s
Photo ID Law that has been called one of the most restrictive pieces of
legislation in the nation.What makes
this particularly troubling for many Wisconsinites is the fact that our state
is looking more and more like a state in the deep South and not a Progressive
Midwestern state.

This article gets at the
heart of the problems that we currently face in education.While it might appear that an article
trumpeting an improved quality in American educators would be a welcome bit of
news in this climate that is so hostile to education, the reality is that the
way that “improved quality” is defined is problematic.Their major measure of quality is the fact
that the current crop of educators has a high concentration of individuals who
scored in the top quartile of SAT scores.

Apparently the insecurity
of the private-sector labor market has driven some individuals into the public
sector in search of stability instead of higher wages.While it isn’t hard to make the argument that
the stability and security in educational occupations isn’t what it used to be,
it seems that some students are viewing the public sector as preferable to the
private sector.

What is especially
troubling is that a source like Mother Jones can run a headline about the
improved quality of teachers when the article gives little information that
supports this beyond test scores and grades.It should be clear to anyone involved in education that, while knowledge
may be important, there are many factors that are more important in determining
the quality of any individual educator.Do we really want to have a crop of new educators who are entering the
profession based on economic criteria?What will happen when the job market improves, will they stay in
education?Doesn’t this definition of
quality feed into the education “reformers” ideas that teaching shouldn’t be a
career, but rather a stepping stone to“better” more “valuable” positions.

Another one for the mixed
“good” and “bad” category.The fact that
we are continuing to look at the Walker
regime’s record of questionable ethics is important.However, considering the way that the
previous John Doe investigation fizzled out, it is difficult to find much hope
that more will come of this one.Anything less than specific charges against Walker will give the Republicans ammunition
for their defense of their leader.They
are already calling this a “witch hunt” and trying to reap political capital
from the investigation.

The economic policies of
the Republican Party are geared, not for sustainable economic recovery, but
rather for the profit of a small number of citizens.This fact is clearly demonstrated in economic
data, and makes the support of candidates like Walker by working and middle class citizens
more troubling.There is a real need to
educate the voters about the economic realities that our society faces before
too much more damage is done to our economy and to individuals/families.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has been a source of embarrassment
for many of us over the past few years.The elections have been marred by outside money, mudslinging and highly
partisan races.We’ve seen bitter,
sometimes physical, confrontations between Justices, and rulings that appear
politically, not legally motivated.Given the highly charged atmosphere in Wisconsin recently, the judicial system
needs to be a non-partisan venue where key issues can be debated and neutral
and legally consistent decisions can be reached.

The
Supreme Court is currently playing a huge role in the ongoing conflict over Act
10 and the rights of public employees to unionize in the state.However, given the partisan nature of the
current Court, the fairness and even legality of the rulings on this and
similar issues will be called into question.